I’m excited to share something today that is truly cool: an art project born out of a friend’s whimsical summer pastime. Production designer Andrea McAlister has lived in Austin long enough to know that the only way to pass the blazingly hot Saturdays of summer is in a pool. She began counting how many different pools she could visit in a single summer. Can I beat last year’s number?Do you know anyone who lives at the W? Can we sneak in? The sport became even more fun once she started documenting it on instagram. The hashtag #poolhunting was born. And what was once simply a numbers game was now a visual one as well — which pool was the most unique? The most exclusive? The grungiest? With an impressive collection of photos of pools from all around Austin and beyond, Andrea has finally unveiled the official poolhunting website. I’m kind of in love with it, and think that it is (much like it’s creator) cool in a rare and genuine way. Scroll below for a sample of Andrea’s work. And check out the poolhunting website for the entire existing collection of photos and to follow the fun as it unfolds this summer.

Want to join in the fun? Instagram a shot of your favorite pool with the hashtag #poolhunting for a chance to be re-grammed by Andrea’s offical @poolhunting account!

My good friend Andrea shared this video with me earlier this week and I’m pretty much in love with it. Marina Abramovic is a well-known performance artist (you might remember her cameo in Sex in the City) and the above is footage from her 2010 MoMA retrospective “The Artist is Present”.

In the seventies Marina and Ulay shared a fantastic love story — performing together out of the van they lived in and creating art inspired by their relationship as lovers. When the relationship had run it’s course in 1988, their separation was marked by The Great Wall Walk — a one-time only performance where they started at opposite ends of the Great Wall and walked towards each other. They met in the middle for one last hug, then disappeared from each others’ lives forever.

During the “The Artist is Present” Marina spent 60 seconds staring directly into the eyes of a series of strangers seated across from her. It was reportedly the largest exhibition of performance art in the museum’s history. This is what happened when, after decades apart, her former lover appeared across the table.

Thank you to Cosmopolitan Magazine for featuring me in the July issue! I was happy to use the opportunity to promote one of my favorite new lines, Proud Mary, who practice fair trade with textile workers in developing countries. You can see that in the digital issue!

Here’s a fun little something: Criterion is streaming movies for free on Hulu! They’re calling it 101 Days of Summer, and It started on May 25th and goes through Labor Day. Each film is available for free on Hulu for 48 hours. The selections are a “mix of classic titles and brand-new uploads to Hulu”, a sample of which can be seen above. We’re on the edge of hitting the triple digits in Texas, so I’m ready to crank up the AC and watch some good movies. Maybe even a few bad movies. Whatever. As long as I’m inside with a cold glass of iced tea!

Just discovered the wonderful work of Kelly Reemsten via the Jealous Curator. I love the contradiction of the pretty dresses against the utilitarian tools… they seem to have an element of weaponry about them, don’t they? In any case, I think these paintings capture something real about how it feels to be a woman. I would love to add one of Kelly’s paintings to my collection someday!